The Apta Tree

The Apta -"Sonpatta" 

Apta is a small fibrous tree and has leaves with two lobes and has small white flowers. Several species of Bauhinia in India and often the more commonly occurring Kanchan which has pink flowers gets mistaken for the Apta.Apta leaves are used for making bidis.In many communities of central India, there is a ritual of exchanging the leaves of the Apta as a symbol of gold during Dasara. Leaves of the apta are offered as gold to God and friends. Conventionally, gold should be gifted by the young to the old. There is a story connected with this custom.

Sri Ram’s ancestor relative’s name was king Raghu. He was very generous. After a great ‘Yagna’ (Prayer) the king had distributed all his wealth among the poor.Raghu had nothing left to give a poor boy, who came to his door step asking for alms. Raghu attacked Kuber, the God of Wealth. As gold rained on earth, some of it fell on the Apta tree. Since then people exchange leaves of the Apta tree on Dussehra day.One of the traditional ways of celebrating Dussehra in Maharashtra is to offer friends and family leaves of the 'Apta' tree. This tree, Bauhinia Racemosa, is also known as 'Sonpatta', being considered to be as valuable as gold for its medicinal value.